I ordered this book at the suggestion of a reader here, and had no idea what to expect. Perhaps some pop psychology or if I’m lucky a thoughtful treatise on Learning Theory. The author, Josh Waitzkin is an eight time National Chess Champion. So far so good. In fact, he was the kid that the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer was based on. Interesting, but then I wondered, “Great, a book on the awesomeness of chess in logical thinking and how it will change your life.” I was pleasantly surprised to see that he moved on from chess and into Tai Chi, studying under Williiam C. C. Chen, and eventually competing and winning at the National and International levels at push hands. Great, but what does that have to do with learning?

Before I opened the book, I did note the blurb on the back from Robert Pirsig, whose Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a favorite of mine, so I opened the covers filled with hope.

Told in the form of a biography, Waitzkin uses vignettes from his chess and push hands career to explain his theories on progress, overcoming challenges and responding to adversity. I found the writing mixed, sometimes falling into a ‘conversational’ style that seemed a bit fluffy. It was a pleasant and interesting read, and would probably make an entertaining movie.

Certain chapters address his learning and problem solving goals more directly, and they come more frequently toward the end. Many of the early ones are classic lessons (losing to win, invest in loss), but they build as the book goes on. In the afterword, which is important to read, Waitzkin gives the best analysis and advice. As a result of the book he hopes readers are,”enabled to follow your dreams in a manner that is consistent with the unique gifts you bring to the table.” In other words, if you are a genius at chess, have an intense work ethic, and amazing attention to detail, this is a how to book. Otherwise, you have to learn from his example and use his ideas to forge your own path.

He sounds like an interesting person, the book was a fun read, and it is certainly inspirational. If you are looking for your ticket to optimal performance, you have a lot of work ahead. As is often said, don’t follow in the footsteps of the great masters, just seek what they sought.

• Jesse’s a friend, so take that into account.
• I broke my rule – he gave me a copy as a gift.  

With that out of the way, here’s how it played out. First, the specs:

• 41 minutes of playing time
• 25 techniques
• $25 for the DVD

It’s not often that I have such access to the person who created the product I’m reviewing, so I took advantage of it to get a little ‘back story’. There were basically two purposes behind this DVD. First, the DVD serves as a handy reference for Dragon-Phoenix students to help them practice their required animal techniques. Second, it is hoped to be a convenient supplement to Animal Technique seminars, where you can take a set of video notes home to ensure you get the most out of a seminar. 

Based on that, I’d say the video achieves both goals pretty well. Jesse’s congenial personality carries well on video, and that combined with the pacing of the video makes it very watchable. Minus credits, it spends an average of a minute and a half on each technique. It’s easy to digest it in one sitting, and doesn’t bore you with 23 slow motion re-runs of the same technique. My DVD player has a rewind button, and I know how to use it. He shows one side, the reverse angle, in the air maybe, and moves on. You aren’t going to get a nuanced look at every single movement pattern relevant to the animals, gain a deep and abiding knowledge of the history of animal kung fu and its place within the development of Shaolin Kempo, or a lengthy dissertation on using the philosophy of the animals in modern life. However, about 40 minutes from pressing play, you will have added a bunch of animal techniques to your repertoire, or at least refreshed your memory on the 25 he presents. I don’t mean to understate the benefit – I have some great videos filled with information from people I respect that I don’t watch – because if a video requires me to sit for two hours to get to what I want to know, I won’t use the video that much. This isn’t that kind of video. 

Good points:

Picture Quality: The video has very good image quality. It’s hard to tell from this photo from my laptop screen, but the quality is excellent. 

Navigation: The menu organizes the techniques into groups by animal (mostly – I’ll explain later).

Clarity: Both the visual presentation and verbal instruction are excellent. It’s easy to see what he’s doing and he changes sides to make sure everything is captured on camera. 

Things I didn’t like:

Navigation: I said mostly. One of the techniques got left out and was added in later. When the video producer returned for a re-shoot, he didn’t really get it continuity-wise. Different camera, lighting, white balance, etc. Because the rest flowed so well, the editing didn’t happen to get the technique with the others of its kind, so it’s a bit of an orphan at the end. Not a huge crisis, but a bit of a flaw given the otherwise good production. 

Camera Work: Again, mostly good but there are a just a couple shots where you lose a foot. A couple of re-shot scenes would have really put a shine on this one. 

All in all, a strong debut video, meeting its objective of a handy quick reference for animal techniques. I’d give it a thumbs up. Pick it up via the Dragon-Phoenix website. 

Mark Hatmaker’s books are inexpensive, and usually dense with information. He comes to mixed reviews with folks either loving or hating him at both Bullshido and Amazon. I’ve purchased several of his books, and find them a bargain. 

As far as this book goes, if you are new to the idea of using the clinch as a range, this book will have a wealth of information for you, including types of clinch, conditioning drills, how to insert and defend strikes, and even basics like circling and pummeling. If you’ve wrestled or done judo, much of this will be a rehash. 

If you actually intend to use this book for NHB or self-defense, you can pretty much skim the collar and elbow section, as it doesn’t suit environments that involve striking. This seems an unfortunate little twist in a book directed at the NHB market. It seems strange that on one hand he says that the collar and elbow is more suited to straight grappling since it’s neutral and leaves too much room for striking, and then shows how to insert strikes in that clinch. 

I liked the rest of the book, but thought that some of the throws were a bit ‘low percentage’. The number of photos and combinations presented gave a large amount of material to try just for experimental purposes.  So, if you feel like you have limited options in the clinch, and would like an inexpensive resource to mine for ideas, consider The Clinch. 

This past weekend was a great experience. Chris Hatch and I took a road trip to Valley Shore Martial Arts, and got to work with our teacher, Professor Kimo Ferreira and his friend Motobu Chosei, Soke. Saturday night we had an instructors’ workout with just a few folks and Professor Kimo, and then Sunday was spent learning from Professor Kimo and then Motobu Sensei and his excellent assistants. 

Professor Kimo covered concepts and techniques from his Kempo Jutsu, and was his usual light-hearted self. We touched on everything from basic punch defenses against straight punches, hooks, double and triple hooks, grabs and more. 

Motobu sensei performed a demonstration of his father’s version of the Naihanchi kata, and his black belts performed bo, katana and empty hand demonstrations. After the demonstrations, Motobu sensei taught the first five of his father’s self-defense techniques. Kiko Ferreira handled the translation duties ably, and there was no language barrier  in communicating Motobu Sensei’s intent. 

It was a great weekend, and it was a pleasure to see my old friends – Professor Kimo and his wife Kiko, Joe Rebelo – and to have a road trip with Chris. We don’t get out  on the road as much since we’ve both been married, and especially since we’ve each gone and had a kid (or two in his case). It was also quite an honor to get to train with Motobu sensei again. He’s the real deal, and I’ve been impressed with him since the moment I met him. A special surprise was when Professor Nancy Cerio dropped in. It was wonderful to get to chat with her again. 

I also had a great time with my new friends at Valley Shore – Keith Tubman did a great job putting together the seminar, and Hedy was great fun and took great care of us food-wise at the Whistle Stop in Deep River. It was also nice to meet Justin in person and to work with Bernard from Branford. 

I thought of the weekend as a nice contrast of pure, classic Karate Kempo and modern Kempo Jutsu. The application has changed, but the values of structure, foundation and effectiveness sure haven’t. 

This wasn’t a no-holds-barred tournament. This was the street.  

The rest of the book is a relatively nice jaunt through JKD, Filipino Arts, and some ‘biting’ art called Kino Mutai. Many photos are included, making the concepts clear, but in a lot of them, Mr. Vunak appears off balanced or out of posture. I’m not certain whether it’s intended to show the ‘fluid nature’ of combat, or whether he’s just off. This book reads alternately like an ambitious manual, manifesto about the superiority of ‘the streets’ over the cage, or JKD guide, but there is a lot of useful information between the covers. So, as a serious manual, it doesn’t reach its potential, as the 125 pages just don’t have the room to cover the topics in depth. However, if you have an interest in Paul Vunak’s Rat or JKD programs, this book certainly provides a nice broad look at what he does and how he thinks about combat. It’s pretty good.   

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Techniques

by Royce Gracie and Charles Gracie with Kid Peligro.

I like Royce Gracie – his performance in the first few UFCs was nothing less than amazing and inspirational. When I thought I’d see how they would apply their art outside the ring, I jumped and bought this book. I really wish I had sat down at the bookstore first and taken a look at it. In it you are treated to Royce dropping into a Horse stance…I mean base (page 20-21), or vanquishing a couple of deadly single wrist grabs (pages 24-27). Then a parade of generic self-defense techniques seen in Krav Maga, Kempo, Judo and even Tae Kwon Do books throughout the ages. Even a couple bear hug defenses, including one where Charles Gracie does a heel kick, and another where he drops into a horse stance, I mean base, and picks up the ankle using his butt as a fulcrum – just like I learned at a Fred Villari’s school.

Really, I regret buying this book. However, I do get a weird satisfaction seeing that the good defenses in the book are all ones I learned in Shaolin Kempo, and that I didn’t learn some of the ridiculous ones taught in the book. There were a few, but only a few new things I learned from the book, but at least it was a saving Grace. Buy it only to feel smug and superior.

•  I paid for these – no free rides. 
• I actually read them – that’s why I bought them. 
• I will give a fair and honest review. I might think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, I might not, but you’ll know how I feel about the book. 
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• If you would like me to review anything in particular, ask!